On Aug. 21., former Sixer Lou Williams made comments that raised some eyebrows. TMZ Sports approached Williams on Monday and asked if he’d like the Sixth Man of the Year Award named after himself.
“That would be an honor. If not me, Jamal [Crawford]. If not Jamal, Manu [Ginóbili]. I think we’re three guys that championed that,” Williams told TMZ Sports. “We made it a lifestyle. We made it something that younger guys coming into the league, if they’re not going to be superstars, not going to be All-Stars, they still have a position to make their mark on the game. That would be a huge honor.”
Lou Williams, 36, played seven seasons for the Sixers from 2005-2012. He is a three-time winner of the 6MOY award, winning in 2014, 2018, and 2019. In his best season for the Sixers, Williams averaged 14.9 points per game, three rebounds, and two assists. Two of Williams’ 6MOY awards were earned with the Los Angeles Clippers.
Many will remember how, in 2020 while playing for the Clippers, Williams earned the nickname Lemon Pepper Lou for sneaking out of the Orlando NBA Bubble to order lemon pepper wings at the Atlanta strip club Magic City. During his time playing for the Atlanta Hawks, Williams frequented the club so often that the Lemon Pepper wings were actually named after him.
After a 17-year career, Lou Williams announced his retirement in June of 2023. He hadn’t played in the NBA since his 2021-22 stint with the Hawks. Williams’ decline was short, retiring just four years after his latest 6MOY award. As of 2021, Williams was still logging relatively frequent 30-point games for an aging sixth man. Williams retired with a total of 13,396 points off the bench, marking an NBA record for the most points scored off the bench.
During his interview with TMZ Sports, Williams also emphasized that he and Jamal Crawford should be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame alongside fellow sixth man Manu Ginobili.
“I definitely think we all Hall of Famers. We contributed to the game,” Williams said. “I think the Hall of Fame is what you bring to the table and being the best at what you do in the realm of basketball. I think we all did that.”
Per the Basketball Hall of Fame, a player must be retired for at least four years before becoming eligible for enshrinement, so we have a while to go before seeing the rest of this story play out. Lou Williams will become eligible for enshrinement in 2027.
